We are hosting our Thursday Lunchtime Concerts at 1.10pm, doors open at 12.30pm for refreshments. The concert will be in person and live-streamed on YouTube. The livestream link is here - https://youtu.be/Y4Xs9fbq82A
Ormonde Ensemble shall be performing the following programme:
Cara Hougton - Flute
Helena Mackie - Oboe
Isaac Prince - Clarinet
Alec Ross - Horn
Bruce Parris - Bassoon
Their programme is as follows:
Vinter, Two Miniatures
Coleman, Afro-Cuban Concerto
Dvorak arr. Ross, Nocturne
Ravel arr. Jones, Le Tombeau de Couperin
Ormonde Ensemble Bio
Ormonde Ensemble are a creative, dynamic and exciting wind quintet comprising postgraduate musicians from the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music. Their broad and diverse range of musical experiences to date allows them to explore the quintet repertoire with a fresh and engaging approach, with a particular passion for the performance of lesser-known and underrepresented works. They have cultivated a strong and blended ensemble sound, which has been noted upon by audience members and coaches alike in various performances and masterclasses. There is a long-standing rapport between the players, with three of their founding members having met at a young age whilst in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. The group can draw upon a wide range of educational backgrounds, with its members having studied at the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Birmingham and the Royal Northern and Royal Welsh Colleges of Music, before coming together in London to form the quintet.
Alec Ross is a London-based horn player, originally from Glasgow. Over the last ten years, Alec has established a wealth of orchestral, chamber and solo playing experience. He has performed with the Philharmonia Orchestra and features regularly in the Symphony Orchestra of the Royal Academy of Music. He has previously held the position of Principal Horn of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland and was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, performing with these orchestras at the BBC Proms and the Edinburgh International Festival, as well as in many of the major concert venues across Scotland and England. He has an extensive variety of chamber music experience, including both wind and brass ensembles of all shapes and sizes, whilst also maintaining a strong interest in the performance of new music, appearing with the Royal Academy’s Manson Ensemble and the Birmingham-based contemporary music group, Orchestra in the Shape of a Pear. Alec is in his first year of postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music, having completed his undergraduate degree in Theoretical Physics and Applied Mathematics at the University of Birmingham.
Bruce Parris studies the bassoon at the Royal College of Music, where he is a Leverhulme Arts Scholar and is taught by Joost Bosdijk and Martin Gatt. Bruce was joint-principal bassoon of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain in 2016, performing at the BBC Proms, Barbican and Symphony Hall. Bruce is interested in both chamber and orchestral playing, as well as being a keen contrabassoon player. He also enjoys contemporary music and has performed in the premieres of orchestral works by composers including Unsuk Chin, as well as chamber works by young composers. Before studying at the Royal College of Music, he completed a Masters’ degree in Physics at the University of Oxford. During his time at university, Bruce played in various ensembles including the Oxford University Orchestra and the Ostro Sextet.
Cara Houghton is a flute player based between London and Manchester and is currently completing her Masters at the Royal College of music, Studying with Sue Thomas, Adam Walker and Kathleen Stevenson. She previously gained her undergraduate degree at the Royal Northern College of Music, which was followed by an additional year there as the Student Union President and she is the current chair of Conservatoires UK Student Network. Cara enjoys playing many different styles of music and particularly likes making music with others, whether that is through chamber music, orchestral playing or workshops. Some highlights include performing with the Netherlands Wind Ensemble for their televised 2020 New Year celebration, Playing a wild premiere of MOVE! alongside Gwilym Simcock and BBC Philharmonic players, and premiering Adam Gorb's opera, A Path to Heaven. When she isn't playing, Cara enjoys spending time with her dog Bailey and the odd spot of TenPin bowling.
Helena Mackie is a London-based oboist, currently in her first year of postgraduate study at the Royal Academy of Music. She took up the oboe whilst a chorister at Salisbury Cathedral, and was a member of the National Youth Orchestra from 2013-17, playing principal cor anglais and then section principal in her final two years. During this time she was fortunate enough to play in several major UK concert venues under conductors such as John Wilson, Edward Gardner and Sir Mark Elder, including appearances at the BBC Proms and a recording of Strauss and Holst. Helena subsequently took her undergraduate degree in Music at the University of Cambridge, where she was an instrumental award holder. She was principal oboe in Cambridge University Orchestra, where a particular highlight was taking part in a commemorative performance of Britten’s War Requiem in King’s College Chapel. Helena also played in several student-led ensembles highlighting student compositions and has a keen interest in contemporary music. In her final year, she performed Strauss’ Oboe Concerto in West Road Concert Hall. Aside from the oboe, Helena is also a keen singer and held a choral scholarship at Clare College, Cambridge, with whom she can be heard as a soloist on recordings of music by Arvo Pärt and Benjamin Britten. She also enjoys arranging, a cappella, reading, and anything and everything culinary!
Originally from a small village in Northamptonshire, Isaac Prince is a London-based Clarinettist and Saxophonist currently studying at the Royal College of Music with Richard Hosford and Tim Lines. He is a scholar of both the HR Taylor Charitable Trust and the Charlotte Fraser Foundation and has also been graciously supported by awards from Help Musicians UK, the Sir Thomas White Foundation, and the Dorothy Johnson Charitable Trust. Isaac graduated with first-class honours from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD) in 2021; he recently returned to perform Mozart’s Concerto for Basset Clarinet in St David’s Hall after winning the college’s annual concerto competition. Isaac has made guest appearances with London Mozart Players, English Symphony Orchestra, Neville Holt Opera, London Firebird Orchestra and tours with Senbla Live Events. A keen bass clarinettist, he has recently been selected as Principal Bass Clarinet in the Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra. During his exchange to Helsinki in 2019, Isaac was employed at the Sibelius Academy Kapubändi & Puhhallinkapubändi Conducting Orchestras, which helped pay for his expensive Finnish accommodation! Isaac has performed in a range of masterclasses around the UK and also in Sweden, Norway, Finland and the Netherlands. Isaac was also selected to take part in masterclasses at the Voksenåsen Sommerakademi in Norway and the prestigious Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival in Germany, which were postponed due to the pandemic. Alongside winning the college Concerto Competition, Isaac also won the RWCMD Woodwind+ Chamber Music Prize with the Idris Wind Quintet. He also won competitive auditions for placement schemes in the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Welsh National Opera, alongside leading sections in the college’s orchestras. Other awards include third prize in the 2021 Clarinet and Saxophone Society of Great Britain Clarinet Competition. Isaac is also a passionate composer & arranger; his “Three Miniatures for Trombone Quartet” was shortlisted for the final of the 2021 Welsh National Opera Composition Competition. His arrangements have been performed in Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) Young Creatives Projects, Durham University Big Band Charity Events, RWCMD Repertory by Entrepreneurial Performers Company (REPCo) and by the Ormonde Ensemble. When he’s not being musical, you will often find Isaac running around a nice park, ogling around in second-hand books & clothes stores, ‘bagging’ a Munro or shaking up a nice